KEY POINTS
- Russian and UAE Presidents warned of “extremely negative consequences” from the Iran-Israel conflict
- Putin also spoke with Israeli PM Netanyahu and Iranian President Pezeshkian
- Russia warns the US against direct military support for Israel
- Iran’s Supreme Leader warns of serious consequences if the US becomes directly involved
MOSCOW: The Presidents of Russia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday warned of “extremely negative consequences” from the escalating Iran-Israel conflict, as President Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia’s readiness to mediate dialogue between the two sides.
In a phone call with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Putin “confirmed Russia’s readiness to provide mediation assistance to promote dialogue between the parties to the conflict,” the Kremlin said in a statement as reported by TASS news agency.
The two leaders “expressed deep concern over the continuing escalation of the Iranian-Israeli conflict, which could have extremely negative consequences for the entire region,” Moscow added.
Israel launched wide-scale air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, military sites and private residences on Friday, killing top commanders, scientists, and civilians.
It claimed the strikes are part of a broader operation codenamed ‘Rising Lion’ to deter Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which Tehran has consistently denied, saying its uranium enrichment programme is for civilian purposes.
Iran responded with its own missile and drone strikes, claiming hitting key military and intelligence targets in Israel.
Putin has held phone calls with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian offering his role as a peacemaker.
Trump says Iran ‘reached out to seek negotiations’
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that direct US military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East.
Ryabkov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that Russia warns the US against supplying such assistance to Israel – or even considering it.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump left the question of whether the US will join Israeli strikes on Iran up in the air, as he said that Tehran had reached out to seek negotiations.
Addressing reporters about whether the US would enter the fray after his earlier comments, Trump said: “I can tell you this, Iran’s got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate.”
“I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Trump told reporters as he supervised the installation of a new flagpole on the White House South Lawn.
Khamenei says Iran ‘will not surrender’
Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised message that the country “will stand firm against an imposed war, just as it will stand firm against an imposed peace”.
Khamenei said: “This nation will not surrender to anyone in the face of imposition,” according to Tasnim news agency.
The Iranian leader also pointed out to statements made by Trump, saying that those who know Iran and its history “know that Iranians do not answer well to the language of threat”.
“And the Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable consequences.”
Earlier, Iran claimed firing hypersonic missiles at Israel as Khamenei vowed his country would show “no mercy” to its long time archfoe, hours after Trump demanded Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”.
“We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,” Khamenei posted on X, hours after Trump’s escalatory remarks.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ali Bahreini, said his country had conveyed to Washington that it will respond firmly to the United States if it becomes directly involved in Israel’s military campaign.
Bahreini told reporters that he saw the US as “complicit in what Israel is doing”. Iran would set a red line, and respond if the US crosses it, he said, without specifying what actions would provoke a response.
“We will not show any reluctance in defending our people, security and land — we will respond seriously and strongly, without restraint,” Bahreini told reporters.
The Iranian envoy called Trump’s remarks “completely unwarranted and very hostile”. “We cannot ignore them. We are vigilant about what Trump is saying. We will put it in our calculations and assessments.”
Death toll in Iran rises
Washington-based group Human Rights Activists put the total death toll in Iran at 585 people, with 1,326 others wounded, the Washington Post reported.
The group added that it had identified 239 of those killed in Israeli strikes as civilians and 126 as security personnel.
In its last update on Monday, Iran’s health ministry said 224 Iranians had been killed and over 1,000 injured, most of them civilians.
So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel, more than 800 have been wounded and over 3,800 have been evacuated from their homes, CNN quoted a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office as saying.
Iran has launched more than 400 missiles and hundreds of drones towards Israel since Friday, the office said.
It added that the strikes have hit 40 sites across Israel, resulting in nearly 19,000 damage claims submitted to the tax authority.
Israeli military strikes have hit two facilities in Iran that made parts for centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium, the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday, identifying them as the Tesa Karaj workshop and the Tehran Research Centre.
“At the Tehran site, one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested. At Karaj, two buildings were destroyed where different centrifuge components were manufactured,” the IAEA said on X. – Agencies
